About Brent Green

About Brent GreenThis blog is about Baby Boomers and our impact on business, society, and culture, today and in the future.
Here I explore many themes relevant to those of us on a thoughtful journey to reinvent the future of aging. I am a consultant and author of six books, including "Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions, Principles, Practices, Predictions."
I present workshops and give keynote speeches about the intersection of the Boomer generation, business, aging, and societal transformations.
My company, Brent Green & Associates, Inc., is an internationally award-winning firm specializing in building brands and forming successful commercial relationships with Boomers through the unique power of generational marketing. Marketing to Boomers
I welcome your comments and questions here. This blog is a continuing conversation that began in June 2005, and I'll appreciate hearing from you.

Brent Green & Associates is a leading marketing company with specialized expertise in selling products and services to the Boomer male market, comprised of over 35 million U.S. adults. Click here to visit our website.

Business Experts

Lee EisenbergLee Eisenberg is the author of "The Number," a title metaphorically representing the amount of resources people will need to enjoy the active life they desire, especially post-career. Backed by visionary advice from the former Editor-in-Chief of "Esquire Magazine," Eisenberg urges people to assume control and responsibility for their standard of living. This is an important resource for companies and advisors helping Boomers prepare for their post-career lives.

Kim WalkerKim Walker is a respected veteran of the communications industry in Asia Pacific, with 30 years of business and marketing leadership experience in Australia, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York. His newest venture is SILVER, the only marketing and business consultancy focused on the 50+ market in Asia Pacific. He has been a business trends and market identifier who had launched three pioneer-status businesses to exploit opportunities unveiled by his observations.

Hiroyuki MurataHiroyuki Murata (Hiro) is a well-known expert on the 50+ market and an opinion leader on aging issues in Japan and internationally. Among his noteworthy accomplishments, Murata introduced Curves, the world’s largest fitness chain for women, to Japan and helped make it a successful business. He is also responsible for bringing the first college-linked retirement community to Japan, which opened in Kobe in August 2008.
Hiro is the author of several books, including "The Business of Aging: 10 Successful Strategies for a Diverse Market" and "Seven Paradigm Shifts in Thinking about the Business of Aging." They have been described as “must read books” by more than 30 leading publications including Nikkei, Nikkei Business, Yomiuri, and Japan Industry News. His most recent book, "Retirement Moratorium: What Will the Not-Retired Boomers Change?" was published in August 2007 by Nikkei Publishing.
Hiro serves as President of The Social Development Research Center, Tokyo, a think-tank overseen by METI (Ministry of Economy, Technology, and Industry) as well as Board members and Advisors to various Japanese private companies. He also serves as a Visiting Professor of Kansai University and as a member of Advisory Boards of The World Demographic Association (Switzerland) and ThirdAge, Inc. (U.S.).

The Boomer generation’s cultural hegemony is maintaining, even expanding celebrity status for those well past 50, including all the aforementioned artists who all turned 60 this year.

In Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers, I raise another possibility for the future of fame, if not a wish: that this generation would be capable of recognizing and elevating artists who do not achieve acclaim until after the age of 45.

I propose this possibility as another tangible sign that Boomer dominance over popular culture will not soon fade as critics predict; rather, the generation would continue to influence paradigm shifts about aging and popular celebrity appeal. Perhaps for the first time in western culture, older artists might step to the international stage, also for the first time—talented individuals who rise above ageism, looks-ism and longstanding social barriers to reach acclaim after reaching a certain age.

Well, this week my wish has been granted.

Last April, an understated woman opened her mouth and sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical “Les Misérables” with nearly perfect pitch and clarity. The judges and television studio audience became enthralled, struggling to find congruency between what their eyes were witnessing and their ears were hearing.

Susan Boyle, age 48, a church volunteer from lackluster Blackburn, Scotland, became an instant celebrity. The YouTube video of her shocking performance on “Britain’s Got Talent,” the UK version of “American Idol,” has received over 33 million views and nearly 90,000 five-star ratings. According to Visible Measures, a company that computes viewings of Internet videos, her catalog of on-online clips has been watched over 310 million times.

Melissa Lonner, senior producer at NBC’s “Today” show, where Ms. Boyle performed on November 23, clarified the meaning of this watershed moment in her comments to the New York Times: “She is the perfect Cinderella story. She connects with the public and crosses over so many socioeconomic platforms. And she made a great record with songs that everyone knows and can relate to.”

But trouncing Simon Cowell, the cynical talent judge, is not the end of this Boomer woman’s remarkable accomplishments. This week her new shrink-wrapped CD, “I Dreamed a Dream,” sold over 700,000 copies in the United States; became the fastest-selling debut album in British history; and soared to the number one sales position in Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, and Australia.

Equally thought-provoking is the manner in which this album has been purchased. Ninety-four percent of the sales have been CDs, not digital downloads, which is counter to the prevailing trend where only 77 percent of music sales today are CDs.

The New York Times speculates why Boyle’s album has been acquired in greater numbers in the form of atoms instead of digital bits:

For many in the music industry Ms. Boyle’s sales are a reminder of a large and often forgotten audience: older listeners who, whether they are less tech-savvy than younger consumers or they simply prefer to hold purchases in their hands, favor CDs over downloads.

Coincidentally, this week Microsoft and AARP released a new study entitled, “Boomers and Technology: An Extended Conversation.” Michael Rogers, the futurist author, concludes: “Boomers want technology to fit the lives they have made and the values they hold dear. If their children are the technology pioneers, the first to explore new territory, Boomers are the settlers, arriving later to set up schools and libraries, to sink deep roots, and to build permanent structures.”

Boomers know how to download music; many own iPods and have scads of MP3’s loaded on their computer hard drives. Yet, the soft touch of Susan Boyle’s voice begets the higher touch preference for a CD over a digital download. And for all those in the technology arena, often shaping their business decisions according to preferences of younger generations, this defining moment should be an adequate reminder that Boomers have the economic might and market dominance to shape the future of technology adoption and usage.

Susan Boyle’s new CD includes “I Dreamed a Dream,” the song that made her famous; religious hymns “How Great Thou Art” and “Amazing Grace”; and covers of popular Boomer rock songs by the Monkees, Rolling Stones, and Madonna.

In my book I also touch upon the underlying psychology that might be driving Susan Boyle’s meteoric rise to fame:

Although this generation’s impact has been significant in the entertainment world, Baby Boomers do not want their legacy to rely solely on the great work of rock musicians and Hollywood actors. They are certainly proud of the accomplishments of two famous Bruce’s—Bruce Springsteen and Bruce Willis—but the people they admire in their everyday lives include thousands of heroes who never achieve mass-market celebrity. These unsung superstars may be famous for their accomplishments in only a single quiet industry—and many prefer anonymity to celebrity—but they are nevertheless as important to the Boomer legacy as its Tinsel Town celebrities.

One of the uplifting possibilities of the Boomer generation arriving in later life is a realization that ordinary older people can achieve extraordinary dreams if given a chance. Society used to erect nearly insurmountable barriers before those who sought fame for the first time after the age of 40.

As the culture of fame finally admits older newcomers—those who have not spent months or years preparing for greatness, but rather have practiced their art and nurtured their dreams for decades, as has Susan Boyle—we witness and celebrate the complete realization of human potential across the lifespan, unimpeded by age or prior socioeconomic status.

Comments

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Fact is, we Boomers still dictate pretty much everything consumer, everything corporate, and everything governmental. Many marketers still dont' get it and continue to target the 18-45 crowd (an approach begun in the 70's with, yes, a desire to reach Boomers), but those who do are fully reaping the benefits. Music is no different - particularly when deciding what kind of music to record and sell.

Boomer Resources

Senior ForumsSenior Forums is a very active online community where the issues that interest Boomers are discussed, dissected, derided, defended, or downright denied in an aura of friendly chatter and banter among like-minded people.
Bring your sense of humor and join a laid-back, international forum of straight talkers who generously offer common sense to support those who need it and laugh with those who embrace the funny sides of aging.

Fierce with AgeCarol Orsborn, Ph.D., invites readers and followers of her blog to join her for what promises to be an exciting, challenging and rewarding next stage, similar in transformation to earlier chapters of life that the Boomer generation traversed and reinvented over the decades. A respected Boomer business authority and author of 19 books focused on spirituality, Carol trusts that through prayer, meditation, personal and spiritual growth, Boomers have the potential to fundamentally change their lives for the good, experiencing the aging process as “a potent mix of spiritual growth and personal empowerment.”

50plusboomerlife — Boomer life - travel - fashion - facts and more!This charming blog is written with purpose and passion by Kristine Drake, a native of Norway. I met Kristine at a magazine launch event in Stockholm, and we've remained in touch. Please keep in mind that this articulate and insightful blog is being written by someone who uses English as her second language. You'd never know it unless I told you so. Norway is a magical country, so Kristine's European perspective about life after 50 enriches us all.

Fifty Is The New FortySince 2007, FiftyIsTheNewForty.com has been a dynamic, trendy go-to destination for savvy and successful 50-something women. Interviews with prominent Boomers, articles, guest blogs and reviews. Fun, funny, informative, and relevant.

Mark Miller's "Hard Times Retirement" Mark Miller, author of "The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security," is a journalist, author and editor who writes about trends in retirement and aging. He has a special focus on how the Boomer generation is revising its approach to careers, money and lifestyles after age 50.
Mark edits and publishes RetirementRevised.com, featured as one of the best retirement planning sites on the web in the May 2010 issue of "Money" Magazine. He also writes Retire Smart, a syndicated weekly newspaper column and also contributes weekly to Reuters.com.

David Cravit's blogDavid Cravit is a Vice President at ZoomerMedia Ltd. and has over 30 years’ experience in advertising, marketing and consulting in both Canada and the US. His book "The New Old" (October, 2008, ECW Press and recommended here) details how the Baby Boomers are completely reinventing the process of aging – and the implications for companies, government, and society as a whole.

Silver - Boomer Marketing in Asia PacificThe only strategic business and marketing consultancy focused on 50+ in Asia Pacific, SILVER is helping companies leverage the opportunities presented by the rapidly rising population of ageing consumers throughout Asia Pacific. Founder and CEO Kim Walker is a respected veteran of the communications industry in APAC, with 30 years of business and marketing leadership experience in Australia, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York. Silver can INFORM with unique research, data and insight reports into the senior market. ADVISE to help companies increase understanding through audit of their ageing-readiness, strategic workshops, training and executive briefings. CONNECT business to the senior market through refined brand positioning plus relevant and targeted communications strategies.

VibrantNation.comVibrantNation.com is the online destination for women 50+, a peer-to-peer information exchange and a place to join in smart conversation with one another. “Inside the Nation” is Vibrant Nation Senior Strategist Carol Orsborn's on-site blog on marketing to the upscale 50+ woman. Carol, co-author of “Boom,” as well as 15 books for and about Boomers, shares her informed opinions from the heart of the demographic.

Entitled to KnowBoomers better get ready for a deluge of propaganda about why Social Security and Medicare should not be secure and why these programs must be diminished and privatized. This award-winning blog, sponsored by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, provides an in-depth resource of breaking news and cogent analysis. You've been paying for these programs since inception of your career; now it's time to learn how as individuals and collectively we can preserve them for all generations.

Time Goes ByThis is the definitive blog to understand what is happening to a generation as it ages. Intelligent. Passionate. Humanistic.

Route 50PlusProduced by the Dutch organization Route 50Plus, this website brings news, knowledge, and information about the fifty-plus population. The Content and links can be found from more than 4000 national and international sources. Topics include fifty-plus marketing, media, new products, services, and trends. Partners of Route 50Plus include Plus Magazine, 50 Plus Beurs, SeniorWeb, Nederland Bureau door Tourisme & Congressen, Omroep MAX, De Telegraaf, MediaPlus, and Booming Experience.

Dr. Bill ThomasUnder the leadership of Dr. Bill Thomas, ChangingAging.org seeks to elevate elders and elderhood in our society by taking-to-task the media, government and other interest groups who perpetuate a declinist view of aging.

Serene AmbitionSerene Ambition is about what Boomers can do, and more importantly, who Boomers can be as they grow older. Blogger Jim Selman is committed to creating a new interpretation or paradigm for the second half of life

The Boomer ChroniclesThe Boomer Chronicles, an irreverent blog for baby boomers and others, is updated every Monday through Friday, usually several times daily.
Host Rhea is a Boston-based journalist and a Gemini who grew up in a small town in New Jersey. She has written for People magazine and The Boston Globe. She was also managing editor of Harvard University’s newspaper, The Gazette. She wrote the “Jamaica Plain (Boston)” chapter of the book WalkBoston (2003; Appalachian Mountain Club) and started a popular series of Jamaica Plain walking tours in 1996.

LifeTwoLifeTwo is a community-driven life planning and support site for adults who have recognized the speed at which days are passing by. This often begins to happen in-between the mid-30s and the mid-50s. Sometimes this recognition is triggered by a divorce, career change, personal loss or some other significant event and sometimes it is just the calendar hitting 35 or 40. The hosts' goal is to take what otherwise might become a midlife "crisis" and turn it into a positive midlife transition.

BoomerCafé.comBoomerCafé is the only ezine that focuses on the active, youthful lifestyles that boomers pursue. Instead of a brand new edition every week or every month, BoomerCafé is changing all the time, which means there’s often something new to read each time you go online at www.boomercafe.com.

Jean-Paul TréguerJean-Paul Tréguer is the author of "50+ Marketing" and founder of Senioragency International, the first and only international marketing and advertising network dedicated to Boomers 50+ and senior consumers.

Dick StroudGenerational and 50+ marketing is taking off in Europe, with no small thanks to the author of newly published "The 50+ Market."

David WolfeRespected widely for his thought-leading book, "Ageless Marketing," the late David Wolfe established an international reputation for his insights, intellect and original thoughts about the future of aging. This blog carries on ageless marketing traditions in honor of David.

Matt ThornhillBoomer pundit Matt Thornhill has taken new ground with his path-breaking Boomer research. When you need fresh Boomer insights, contact Matt for original research, both online and focus group.

Chuck NyrenChuck Nyren, author of "Advertising to Baby Boomers," is a seasoned creative director and copywriter with talent to match. Ad agencies absolutely need his counsel about any of their clients planning to target Boomers.